"The Bachelor's Kelsey Anderson Reveals Father Mark is Adjusting to Fame After Hometown Date"

The father of Kelsey Anderson, a contestant on The Bachelor, Mark Anderson, achieved viral fame after featuring in the hometown date episode. Kelsey humorously reacted to her father's sudden popularity two days after the episode was broadcast on Monday, March 4.

She posted on Instagram on Wednesday, March 6, saying, “I'm glad everyone could meet a portion of my loving family!” She added with a joke, “Mark needs to process his newfound fame.”

Mark quickly became a viewer favorite during a visit to Louisiana by Joey Graziadei and Kelsey. Not only did fans praise his charm and good looks, but they also advocated for the Army veteran to be the next Golden Bachelor. Clearly, the Anderson family noted all the online buzz after the episode aired.

Prior to bringing Joey, 28, home to meet her family, Kelsey talked with him about her bond with her father. Although she acknowledged that her father was often busy with work during her childhood, the death of Kelsey's mom, Denise Anderson, in 2018 solidified her relationship with Mark.

She confessed “my dad is really my favourite guy”. She added, “he’s the one I go to whenever anything happens, whether I’m happy or sad. And definitely in happy and sad moments I really miss my mom, but I know that I can rely on my dad.”

When Kelsey reunited with her father on the ABC show, she became emotional, and appreciated his approval of her relationship with Joey. Mark commented, “I can see how he treats you,” he said. “It’s reassuring. I want all my children to experience the feeling I had with your mom, it's like setting the world on fire.”

At the following rose ceremony, Joey gave roses to Kelsey, Daisy Kent and Rachel Nance. These three women will have the opportunity to join Joey in the fantasy suite in the next episode on March 11 in Mexico.

Among the three women, Kelsey is the only one who didn't tell Joey, a Pennsylvania native, that she was “falling in love with him” during their hometown visit. Nevertheless, she confessed in an interview that she desired to “blurt out that I love him” and told Mark, “I think I love [Joey].”

Simultaneously, Kelsey asked her dad in a TikTok video posted on Tuesday, March 5, whether he was interested in being the next Golden Bachelor. His response was a firm, “No! I'm too young!”

The Bachelor is broadcast on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.